Optical Drive doesn't read DVD's

Hi, I own an HP Pavillion dv7 1279wm entertainment laptop. It came installed with Vista, but I installed a free upgrade to Windows 7 that I got from HP. I had a problem where the drive would not read anything; the disc would spin, but eventually the tray would automatically open and tell me to insert a disc. After using Microsoft FixIt, I was able to read CDs, but encountered the same problem when trying to load a DVD. Previous to using Microsoft FixIt, I did use device manager to uninstall the drive and then reboot so Windows 7 would automatically update the driver. I'm thinking that means that it's not a software problem, but if you can think of anything else I can do (short of swapping out drives because I don't have access to another drive) to rule out it being a software problem please let me know. I realize that combo drives typically use different lasers to read CDs and DVDs, so my guess is that the laser that reads DVDs has failed. If that is the case, where can I find the correct replacement part and how do I install it?
Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kevin,
If you eject the optical drive tray, you should see just one laser situated towards the centre of the tray - different voltages are applied to this depending on whether it's reading a CD or DVD.
First of all, use a soft, non abrasive material such as cotton or a cotton bud and gently clean the lens.
Check if this has made any difference.
If it still doesn't read DVDs, try following the procedure under the sub-heading 'Let me fix it myself' on the link below to remove the Upper and Lower filters, restart the notebook and see if this helps the issue.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116
If it still doesn't read DVDs, the following procedure will test if your notebook can start from a bootable disc in the optical drive - the advantage of trying this is that it will rule out any possible Windows driver error as the CD/DVD drive is under the control of the Bios when starting the notebook.  So if you find that the notebook will not boot from the DVD, then it's almost certainly a Hardware fault in the optical drive itself and it will need to be replaced.
Using another PC to create a Windows 7 Rescue DVD.  Download the relevant ISO from the link below.
Windows 7 32bit
Windows 7 64bit
You need use an application such as ImgBurn to correctly burn the ISO to a DVD - a guide on using ImgBurn to write an ISO to a disc is Here.  Once created, insert the DVD and then restart the notebook and see if it boots from this disc - if it does, let the first screen come up ( this will show repair options etc ) then just remove the DVD and restart the notebook.  If the notebook will not boot from the DVD, it may just load straight into Windows.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
****I don't work for HP****
Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

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